1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for and a method of processing a solvent containing a solute.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In liquid chromatography solute samples are dissolved in a liquid and injected into a flowing liquid steam of eluent or solvent to be chromatographed. The samples are spacially separated and are expelled from the chromatograph in discrete volumes. In the chromatograph the discrete solutes of each sample become physically separated in space and so separated in time when discharged from the chromatography. The different discrete solutes are collected as they emerge and are separately analysed.
In order to effect a proper analysis, all of the solvent must be removed from each collected volume. Since the solvent usually has a lower boiling point than the solute, this is done by heating the collected volume until all the solvent has evaporated. Thereafter the remaining solute is heated more severely and simultaneously reduced or oxidised to break down the sample component into a gas or gases which is or are then subjected to a gas analysis.
Where only small volumes of the sample are available, care must be taken to ensure the different solutes are collected separately and consequently no satisfactory automation of the process has yet been achieved.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for processing a solvent containing a solute.